Portrait of An Arrogant Master - Chapter 22
She had bought tea leaves at the Spring Festival street vendor.
It was said to be effective against headaches, especially those caused by the Name. Today, she planned to give these to Eren. If it were another gift, he might refuse, but since it was related to treatment, he might accept it. If it truly worked, he might even thank her by patting her head.
Thinking about their upcoming meeting, the bitter feelings that had threatened to surface began to fade. Macy got up early, packed the tea leaves and some bread she had baked into a basket, and prepared herself for the day.
* * *
As usual, Dia carefully blindfolded Macy. But instead of leaving quietly as she normally did, she spoke up.
“Miss Macy Horton, I have a message for you.”
“What is it?”
“Mr. Eren Wood mentioned that he might be late or unable to come at all. He said you should go ahead and sleep.”
“Sleep here… alone?”
“Yes.”
Macy double-checked, thinking she might have misheard, but Dia’s response was unwavering. She had been looking forward to this meeting for days, even bringing a gift for Eren.
“Do you know why he can’t come…?”
Her voice trailed off in disappointment.
“No, it’s fine. Thank you for telling me.”
“Yes, please rest well.”
The sound of the door closing left the room in silence. The thought that Eren might not come filled her with a deep sense of futility. What had she been doing here, and what had she been expecting?
It felt like playing hide-and-seek, only to realize that all the other children had gone home when the sun set, leaving her alone, giggling in a corner.
“How pathetic…”
The feeling of sadness was fleeting as Macy sprawled out on the bed. The large bed, even without Eren, was still soft and comfortable.
‘He’s always so self-centered. If he was going to cancel, he should have done it sooner.’
Muttering complaints that she would never voice in front of Eren, she drifted off to sleep.
She was awakened by the rustling sound and the familiar touch around her waist. The cool musk scent was unmistakably that of the man she had been eagerly waiting for.
Eren was holding her close.
“….What time is it now?”
“Probably just before midnight.”
His scent carried a hint of the cool night air, showing that he had just arrived. Macy, feeling weak in his embrace, mumbled,
“It’s not even that late… Why did you say you might not come?”
Normally, she would never have voiced such a thought.
But tonight felt different—it had been a long time since they last met, she was a bit upset with him, and she was still half-asleep, letting her guard down.
“…I said that because I thought I might be even later, but you seem displeased.”
“A little… No, never mind.”
Macy clenched her grip on his clothes. As his scent grew stronger, she became more alert. She wasn’t in a position to complain to Eren. Almost speaking out in her sleep, she quickly backtracked, fearing she had overstepped.
He didn’t respond, instead, she could hear the steady, calming rhythm of his heartbeat. Just having him there with her made her feel a bit better.
‘He must have had something important come up, some unavoidable circumstance. Eren probably feels a bit sorry too.’
She convinced herself that his silence was due to the arrogant man’s inability to apologize rather than anger. Normally, she would have worried about upsetting him, but now she chose to interpret his silence in her own way.
But despite this comfort, she couldn’t fall back asleep. Normally, his arms would have soothed her back to sleep, but tonight she felt more awake by the minute.
“Seems like I’ve fully woken you up.”
“I took a nap earlier today…”
Eren, sensing that Macy wasn’t falling asleep, spoke to her.
“How long did you nap?”
“About three or four hours.”
“Quite a long nap. Are you still a child?”
“I’m not a child…”
She refuted his offhand comment. She was worried it sounded like she was nitpicking, so she quickly added,
“I’m not a child, you know, so…”
“Yes, you’re not a child.”
It felt odd despite stating the obvious. Maybe it was because it had been a while since they last met, or perhaps Macy had done something wrong, but their conversation felt off today.
Not that Macy and Eren’s conversations had ever been smooth. In fact, calling their interactions ‘conversations’ was generous.
Eren only spoke when necessary, and Macy was always too cautious around him. So why did it feel like things were even more strained than usual today?
And come to think of it, it was odd. He never asked such trivial things before—like how long she had napped or if she was upset about his lateness.
“You might look young, but I know you’re not a child. Should I call you a lady then?”
“What? No, that’s not necessary…”
She thought he sounded more curt than usual, and then his questions took an unexpected turn.
“The lady seemed to enjoy the festival quite a lot.”
“…?”
“With a man, just the two of you.”
